West Bound & Down

So today was definitely a learning experience for me and refresher course for Daryl Selby. The third load we booked for Virago Transport LLC is 32 pieces of huge sheets of glass are used for large buildings that required 2 8ft tarping and straps.

The loading process took over 3 hours, so they told us to go hang out while they strategically nailed each piece into our trailer. We bobtailed (without the trailer) over to a farm store so I could do some retail therapy (they had some great deals btw lol) and then headed over to Cabela's to spend the rest of our time moseying around until we needed to head back to tackle those tarps. While at Cabela's we ran into 2 awesome young men who were selling Boy Scout popcorn, spreading their positive attitude and amazing manners. We left the store with me a new pocket knife (so I don't have to keep borrowing Daryl's) and a box of popcorn for our next few evenings of travel to Portland, OR and a good feeling knowing we helped contribute to a good community cause!

Now the hard work began. And by hard work I mean HARD damn work. Each one of our 8ft tarps weighs roughly 275lbs a piece (and we had to use 2 of them), and required us climbing up and over this pyramid of stacked glass while a huge gantry crane dropped them on top of the load.

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a crippling fear of heights...Like I struggle with standing on a step stool without nearly passing out from panic and fear So today definitely pushed me well pass my comfort zone and into fight or flight mode. Daryl was hopping around like Spiderman and it was no big thing, and I was shaking in my steel toed boots trying not to cry in front of the men who were standing around watching us tarp. But ya girl sucked it up, drug those heavy ass tarps around like a grown man and helped tarp strap (bungee cord) this beast (without punching myself in the face and without snapping my fingers in the process...) I did chip my nails Jen Sanders , but they've held up pretty good!!

Watching this whole process and doing this securement in particular made me appreciate the job that Daryl and all the other flatbed drivers do (and all other types of trailer haulers). This is seriously physically dangerous work! A gentleman shared with us that his good friend recently lost his life after sustaining fatal injuries falling off of a tanker trailer. Probably was the best thing to tell me while I was already freaked out with my feet dangling 12ft in the air But nonetheless, yet again, eye opening.

After that backbreaking work we opted to shower and eat before we started our way towards our delivery location (I.e we stank to sweaty high heaven and were getting hangry and my continuous glucose monitor was screaming at me for low blood sugar). I'm happy to report this shower was very nice, very clean, and surprisingly spacious lol. We are usually stepping over each other trying to get our showers and in and out so the next driver can have their much needed shower.

Daryl is less than impressed with this tarp job (he's not thrown a tarp in over 5 years and is a ridiculous perfectionist (those that know him know this all too well lol). I on the other hand am super proud and have the mentality that as long as the customer receives their commodity in one piece and is happy with the job we did and we get paid all is well in my book.

We'll be making our way out west over the next 3 days shutting down here in the next hour or so in South Dakota for the night and then start towards Montana tomorrow.

I am obsessed with farmland so forgive my multiple pictures of farms, tractors and random windmills.

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